The child of the Plusmarkt account

My parents are divorced. Now I am one of those 70,000 children per year for whom this is just the way it is. But when it happened, I was six and we were the first family from the village primary school to go through a divorce. Once every two weeks at my father's, the rest of the time with my mother, and with parties and celebrations, weekends were swapped. At Christmas, the gourmet set was on the table at mom's and we played Monopoly all afternoon, we celebrated New Year's at dad's with a bag full of fireworks, which we all shot into the air at six o'clock in the afternoon. That's why I reacted to the Plusmarkt advertisement.

First of all, a standing ovation for the supermarket chains that have managed to create real tearjerkers. Applause for Albert Heijn, who (probably deservedly) builds on the lonely elderly of Geer and Goor. Also for Jumbo father Frank Lammers who may seem a bit blunt, but still has too small a heart to chop down trees with a blunt axe and rob the animal population of their home. Grocery shopping is now all about emotions and not whether the mayonnaise in the advertisement is, then you know that for a moment.

But then I saw the Plusmarkt advertisement. Haven't seen it yet? Let me sketch it briefly. A little girl has divorced parents. Packs her bag in and out again. Commutes between parents. It's Christmas. At mom's she has a big tree, at dad's a small one. Dad is alone. The little girl gives dad a gourmet pan as a gift. Dad finds the pan under the tree. Everyone gourmet in peace, even dad and mom's new boyfriend. The end. May I also have a modest applause for the creators of this advertising masterpiece? Because even I got a lump in my throat.

As a child of divorced parents, I have been wondering since that commercial. First of all: how many children children of divorced parents contributed to this advertisement? And... did their parents really treat each other like that? One more thing, why doesn't (the quite handsome, it must be said) dad shake hands with mom's new boyfriend? And how many of the 70,000 children in the Netherlands who witness their parents' divorce each year had to cry very hard at this advertisement? Because this is not reality. Because fathers and mothers almost always argue during a divorce or at least act a bit cool towards each other when picking up and dropping off the child in question. Because a new love of father or mother is usually not welcomed with much cheer.

I even had to swallow a lump, even though it happened when I was six. Yes, six. That means it was twenty-five years ago. Now I may shed a tear faster than the average man, but you would think that after twenty-five years so much wear and tear has occurred that I can endure this without tears. Even if only because it was better. The most striking thing about all this is that I am talking about a supermarket advertisement for Christmas groceries. You just can't believe it, can you?

Therefore, dear Plusmarkt, it is all very noble and sweet what you have come up with, but it is a utopia. The wish is the father of the thought, but sometimes your father is not at the table and that is just sad.